


Mirror

by Pauliestorylover



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Day 1: Mr Lancer/Reflection, Gen, Horror, Mild Horror, dp side hoes week, dp side hoes week 2021
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 20:39:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29890224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pauliestorylover/pseuds/Pauliestorylover
Summary: There was something wrong with William Lancer’s reflection.
Relationships: Mr. Lancer (Danny Phantom) & Other(s)
Kudos: 25





	Mirror

There was something wrong with William Lancer’s reflection.

The first time he noticed it, he was brushing his teeth, half-asleep and squinting at the mirror.

Then, his reflection smiled widely and waved.

A reflection moving on its own, it turned out, was even better at waking someone up than coffee. William startled so hard he choked on toothpaste.

After he had the situation under control, he turned back to the mirror.

His reflection was just his reflection again.

He must’ve fallen asleep while brushing his teeth and dreamed the entire thing. It was just a strange dream, nothing supernatural, right? Still, the ordeal sent a shiver of fear down his spine.

* * *

He would’ve kept on pretending the experience was nothing more than a dream, had his reflection not moved again one week later.

That time, he was in the teacher’s bathroom. When he looked up from the sink, he found his reflection staring intensely at him. Then, it bared its teeth, revealing sharp and bloody canines.

William screamed.

Not one second later, Ricky rushed in, yelling, “Where’s the murderer?”

William turned to his colleague, about to point out his reflection, before he realized the reflection wasn’t moving on its own anyone. He shook his head, “I’m fine, Rick. I just thought I saw a spider or something.”

Ricky nodded and patted his shoulder, “Call me if you see it again. I’ll kill it for you.”

William wasn’t sure if he was dreaming – or hallucinating – anymore.

* * *

The third time it happened, he was speaking with Jazz.

His eyes caught on his reflection by the window. It was leering at him; it eyes red and glowing. William jumped.

Jazz gave him a look of concern.

William shook his head, hoping that the reflection would turn out to be yet another hallucination. No such luck.

The reflection remained.

Hesitantly, William pointed at the window. “Do you see that?”

Jazz frowned at the window, “See what? There’s nothing wrong.” She gave him another concerned expression. “Mr Lancer, are you okay?”

Lord of the Flies, she couldn’t see it. Was it only him, or…? William shook his head, “It’s fine. I am just slightly sleep deprived.”

Jazz pursed her lips but didn’t press any further.

* * *

His reflection began moving more frequently.

At first, it moved in snapshots, gaining its own mind for seconds before reverting to his normal, unmoving reflection. Then, it stayed for longer. And longer. And yet even longer.

It was almost as if his reflection was…gaining power.

William prayed that was not the case.

Now, his reflection moved constantly. Some days, it only observed him, giving him a mocking smile or two whenever it caught him staring. Other days, it had bloody fangs, or glowing red eyes, or both. 

Still, no one could see it besides him.

William had tried to ask his colleagues, of course. None of them could see it. The only things he managed to gain from that particular endeavour were strange looks and rumours that circulated around the teacher’s lounge. Even Ricky talked to him less, after that.

William stopped talking about his unnatural reflection.

It was a ghost. Probably. In Amity Park, if something supernatural happened, it was safe to assume a ghost most likely did it.

William needed professional help.

* * *

“Phantom!” William called as the ghost boy captured Skulker in his thermos. They were in the school yard, despite school having let out hours ago.

Phantom looked over, curiosity and trepidation written on his face. “Mr Lancer? Didn’t expect you to still be here.”

“I need your help.” William said, letting desperation bleed into his voice. “ _Please_.”

Phantom blinked in surprise, and then nodded solemnly, “What do you need?”

“I…” William hesitated; he had planned to get Phantom’s attention, but no further than that. How should he explain this? “My reflection’s been moving around on its own. Sometimes its eyes glow red, and it has fangs with blood on them. No one else sees anything, though. I think it might be a ghost.”

Phantom frowned, “I haven’t heard of any ghost who likes to mess with reflections. Might be new to the scene.” He floated over to William. “Mind if I have a look?”

William took out the pocket mirror he had brought along for this exact occasion. He held it in front of him. The mirror was only large enough to show his face; and his reflection grinned mockingly at him. “Can you see this? It’s grinning at me.”

_Paradise Lost, please say yes._

“I don’t see anything unusual.” Phantom gave the mirror a considering look. “Actually, can I borrow that?”

Heart sinking, William nodded and handed over the mirror. “It’s not just this mirror, though.” He added as Phantom began examining it. “It’s every reflection I’ve come across. Even reflections in water and windowpanes.”

After a few moments of deliberation, Phantom said, “It’s not a ghost.”

“What?” William startled; he had been _so sure_! “What else can it be?” Call of The Wilds, he couldn’t actually be hallucinating, could he?

“I can sense when I’m near other ghosts.” Phantom told him. “If you’re being haunted, I’d know. But whatever you’re experiencing…it’s not a ghost; not unless they somehow managed to evade my ghost sense.”

William nodded mutely. He wasn’t haunted. He had been so sure…

Taking a look at his crestfallen face, Phantom suggested, “Maybe it’ll go away if you take a break…?” He suddenly brightened, “I know! You’ve been assigning your students a lot of homework; I’m sure everyone will be happy if you do that less often.”

William gave him an exasperated look. “Did the students put you up to this?”

Phantom grinned sheepishly.

* * *

Despite the decrease in workload, the situation did not get better.

In fact, it became worse.

His reflection was twisting.

Before, his reflection was still recognizably him, even with the bloody fangs and glowing eyes. Now, though? The edges of his reflections were distorting, warping into shadows where were none.

His reflection was changing, for better or for worse.

Some days, his reflection smiled, while William looked on in horror. There was an edge to that smile; it was cruel, predatory, the smile of a hunter playing with their prey. William shivered.

He had taken to looking at anything _but_ his reflection.

William needed a second opinion.

* * *

William rang the doorbell to Fenton Works and was nearly shot in the face for his troubles.

“Mr Lancer!” Jack Fenton exclaimed once he realized William was in fact not a ghost, “Is Danno in trouble again?”

“Great Gatsby, no! I need your help. I think I’m being haunted by a ghost.”

Perhaps that was the wrong way to start.

Three hours, several lectures, and a number of experiments later, William was finally released from the Fentons, with the declaration that although their equipment could not detect any ghosts haunting him, the spector deflector they gave him would certainly keep him safe.

* * *

William returned to school happier than ever, with the spector deflector hidden under his clothes.

His suffering was over.

As he passed by Danny in the corridor, Danny jumped, as if shocked. A strange expression found its way onto his face, “Did my parents give you something?”

“Yes, Mr Fenton. They thought it might help with a…personal situation.” William frowned, “Why?”

Danny shook his head, but it was obvious something was bothering him. “Not at all.” He hurried away uneasily.

How strange.

* * *

That night, as William prepared for bed, his eyes caught on the toilet’s mirror again.

Blood drained from his face.

In lieu of his face was a being of shadow, twisting and coiling, hungry, yearning for flesh and blood.

It hadn’t even been so bad yesterday, before he went to visit the Fentons. At least then he could still recognize his face in the reflection.

The shadow monster smiled at his fear, showing off fangs that gleamed red with blood. Its red eyes sparkled with mirth.

_Ä̶̲̝́̊̃w̷̠̽̌̌̽w̵̜̘͍̑̍͑͌͝.̴̢̡̺͉̽͜ .̴̫̙̰͉̬.̶̢̹̝̫̽̈́t̴̘̠̩̰͕̄͝h̷͓̩̑e̷͎̠͊͋̓ ̵̛̥̈̌͝f̵̧͛͂͌o̴̯̙̟̹͇͛̄ǒ̶̖̞̭l̸̤̣̳̖͔̀̽̆͐ ̸̯̪͈̞̳̑̕̚i̵̢̨͉̓͒̕͝͠s̴̱̲͇̼̅͌͛͜h̷̺̹̥͒ ̵̢̼̦̪̅̎̐͝m̴̻̞̎̾̌͘ ̶̤̳̻̄͒͒͆̚o̶͎̽ȓ̴̨͆͊ṭ̸͇̐́͋̚a̴̧̳͍͍͚͌̈́͛ḻ̷̘̟̜̊͗͑͊ ̴̖̰̠͚̥͒̒͝i̴̧̯̙̯͊͠ͅs̷͙̅ ̸̲̖̪̭͛̈́̂̈s̴͓͖̜̪͛̈́͠͝͝ͅ ̶͔̗̻̍č̷̖̠̰͋̐̌̄ ̷̖͈͐̎̃a̵̦͉̤̺͊̈̒͊̓͜r̵̜͑̃͝ ̶̤̙͗̊̑̍e̴̫̔ ̸̰̞̜̰̩̏̈͛d̵̝̜̿̓̽̍̒_

The shadow monster _spoke_. Its voice sounded like fingernails dragging against a chalkboard, grating and discordant. William shivered.

_y̵͈̐̌o̷͇̙̲̱͋͝ư̴̬̏̽̽͝ṟ̵͔͎͕̙̀̆̈̌̅ ̵̺͇̝̣̼̐͋̚͝f̵̢͉̿ ̵̩͗̆ë̸̺̺̲̰͐̃ ̶̢̨͖͈̈́̉͗͋̅̎a̸̯̍̔̽̏̀̈́ ̸̢̬͇̦̋͝ŗ̵͉͉̦͑́̔̏̿͘ͅ ̵̻̜̍̂̈́͂į̴̻͖͐͑s̴̢̛̩͉̝͎͑̄̄̄ͅ ̶͉̪̰͑̈̇̾ͅͅd̶̹̹̀̊̽̓ ̶̡̛̰̬͇̈́̈̏̊ē̴̥͌̾̔ ̷̙͙̪̗̬̈́͌̓̊͌̕ĺ̷̢̧̩̱̤̆̿̓̈͝i̶͇̜͓̔͠ ̵̠̬͕͍̓ĉ̸̡̨̗̊i̸̡͉̮͈̝̻̇͗̅ ̵̧̰͙̖̾̌̎̽̕ŏ̸̰̻͈͚͉̾ü̵̫̒̚ͅs̴̨͓̖͕̯͖̅̓̽_

He could barely make out what it was saying, but he had a feeling ignorance was bliss, in that moment.

“Why are you doing this? What do you want?” His voice was shaking, but did it matter? The monster already knew he was terrified.

_w̸̠̉͋̉͆ͅh̴̡͉͎͔͇͑̉̋̑͐̕a̴̺̣͍͕̖̰͌̊͛̊t̴̨̟̥̦̮̔̇̓͝ ̷̼̑̈Ï̵̧͌̈́͌ ̵͚͖̆͌̿ẃ̸͔͊̌ ̵͎̦̤̋́a̷̡͉̿ ̴̤̭̜̩̦̬̒̐͠n̸̛̼͍̄ ̶̨̛͙͌̊͜t̴̛̤̭̰̤̑͂̅͘͜ ̷͔͓͔͇͚̾̈?̷̱̳̠͐̽̌͌͒ ̷͍̝̦̗̋̑̇i̷͇͂͂̅ͅş̴̹̪̦͖̪̎̐̅n̵̢̦͓͓͕̦̉͛̊'̸̞̮̫̣͓̲̏͝t̴̟͆̉ ̷̤͚̰̲̥̎͆̓̈͑ṯ̸͍͇͍͎̍ḩ̴͔̳̹͇̘͂̍̓̓͠a̷̞͆͌͐̏́̕t̵̯̬͕͚̪͝ ̶̨̡̱͉̊̆̀o̶̤̽̑͠ ̷̡̡̩̘̫̦͐̊͆͋͠b̶̹̬̮̯̰͂͜ ̷̡̢͕̬͈͠ͅv̷̨̫̯͌̈ ̴̯͇͐̒̚͝͝͠ḭ̵̤̺̎̂̈͋̋ ̴̫̦̃͘o̷̡̰̲͝ ̸̲̺̣̳̗̋̅̉̊u̶̙͝ ̸̖̟̐̉̄͊̕͠s̶̖̩̯̀̾̌͑͆͜ ̶̢͔̄͑̄̊̈́?̸̘͒͌̓̀̈̽ ̴̡̛̳͔͕͙̇̈̔͆_

It reached out, through the barrier of the mirror, and placed its claws on his shoulders.

William hissed. The monster was _cold_. Cold enough to get frostbite. It _hurt_.

_w̶̨̞̱̟͙̓̑̓̋̆͠ ̶̱̻̹̳͇̌̃̋h̶͚̓̋̚͜ ̵̗̈́̄͋͂͛ȁ̸̼̄̋͘͘͝ ̷͇̺̲̯̖̞̉̌t̶̖̙̯̲̞͌͝͝ ̸̢͉̝̮̘̻̋̾͌͂̚Ị̴͕͎͉͔̑͆̈́͝ ̶̬̦͛̅̅̽͘w̶̟̽̊̈́̇ ̸̯̬͊̈́̂̔͝ȧ̷̧̰͜͜ ̶̲͔̰͕̐̎̃͋̈́̕n̷̳̓ ̶̤͠t̷͈̅̍̐̓ ̸̧̡͚͔̺̄̓̎i̷̢̼̮͎͂͊͘ ̶̭̤͖͜s̵̢̨̙͙͓̟̈ ̵̺̟̟̆̎̋̇̈́.̶̭̘̗̤͂͆̒́͌ ̵͈̙̗̋̂͑͋͘.̶̢͕̻̬̘̙̓ ̸̦̰̈́͊͘.̵̜͉̿̂̈́͂͝_

He tried to pry himself from its grip, but he couldn’t. It felt as if he was trapped in a cube of ice, freezing and suffocating.

_y̵͙̪̯̣̗̹̅͝ ̷̧͉̊ö̵̺͉͇̑̏͘͠ ̶͚̪̹̭̥̔̾u̷̮̺͆͒_

Why was the spector deflector not working? The Fentons had promised it would repel all—

_Oh._

_Oh no._

It was then that William realized something obvious.

This thing…whatever it was, it was not a ghost.

But it was already too late.

* * *

Oh no indeed.


End file.
